Apparatus for cup and carafe beverage production

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for forming both carafe quantities and smaller (e.g., cup) quantities of a beverage using a cartridge-based beverage machine. A beverage forming machine accommodates cartridges having different sizes and/or shapes, including different rim sizes/shapes. The outlet used for receiving a beverage from a standard cartridge differs from the outlet used for receiving the beverage from a carafe cartridge inserted in a same cartridge holder. Beverage may exit the cartridge in an upward direction in some embodiments.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

Aspects of the invention relate to a beverage forming systems to be usedwith cartridges to form beverages such as coffee.

2. Related Art

Beverage forming systems for use with beverage cartridges are wellknown, and typically include a cartridge holder for receiving acartridge containing a beverage medium. The system delivers water and/orother fluid to the cartridge to interact with the beverage medium, and abeverage is received from the cartridge.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the invention provide for a beverage forming apparatus whichforms beverages in both a small quantity and a substantially largerquantity suitable for a carafe of beverage. For example, in someembodiments, a beverage forming system machine includes a cartridgeholder which can accommodate either a standard cartridge which holdssufficient beverage medium to form a cup of coffee, or, separately, acarafe cartridge which contains enough beverage medium to form a carafeof coffee. Various features of the beverage forming machine may permit auser to easily brew or otherwise form beverages in vastly differentvolumes without significant action beyond choosing a cartridge andinserting the cartridge into the machine.

In one aspect, a beverage forming apparatus includes a cartridge holderhaving an opening to receive a cartridge, the cartridge holder arrangedto receive a first cartridge of a first cartridge type in the openingand a second cartridge of a second cartridge type in the opening atseparate times. The first cartridge is of a type configured to hold anamount of beverage medium to form a volume of a beverage of eight ouncesor less, and the second cartridge is of a type configured to hold anamount of beverage medium sufficient to form a volume of at least thirtyounces of the beverage. The apparatus includes an inlet arranged toprovide liquid to a cartridge held by the cartridge holder to form thebeverage, a first outlet arranged to receive the beverage from the firstcartridge held by the cartridge holder, and

a second outlet, different from the first outlet, arranged to receivethe beverage from the second cartridge held by the cartridge holder.

In one embodiment, a beverage forming apparatus includes a cartridgeholder having an opening to receive a first cartridge of a firstcartridge type and a second cartridge of a second cartridge type atseparate times. The first cartridge is of a type configured to hold anamount of beverage medium to form a volume of a beverage of eight ouncesor less, and the second cartridge is of a type configured to hold anamount of beverage medium sufficient to form a volume of at least thirtyounces of the beverage. The cartridge holder is arranged to engage witha cartridge support region of each of a first cartridge held by thecartridge holder and a second cartridge held by the cartridge holder,the support region of the first cartridge having a different size and/orshape than the support region of the second cartridge. The apparatusalso includes a liquid supply system arranged to provide a liquid forcombination with a beverage medium in a cartridge held by the cartridgeholder to form a beverage.

In some embodiments, a beverage forming apparatus includes a cartridgeholder having an opening to receive a cartridge, an inlet arranged toprovide liquid to the cartridge held by the cartridge holder to form abeverage, and an outlet arranged to receive the beverage from thecartridge held by the cartridge holder. The inlet is arranged to injecta liquid into the cartridge in the cartridge holder such that the liquidflow has a vertical component which travels downwardly in the directionof the force of gravity as the liquid enters the cartridge, and theoutlet is arranged to receive the beverage from the cartridge in thecartridge holder such that the liquid flow has a vertical componentwhich travels upwardly in a direction opposite to the force of gravityas the beverage exits the cartridge.

In some embodiments, a method of forming a beverage using a beverageforming apparatus is provided. The beverage forming apparatus includes acartridge holder having an opening to receive a cartridge, a firstoutlet, and a second outlet that is different from the first outlet. Thecartridge holder is arranged to receive a first cartridge of a firstcartridge type in the opening and a second cartridge of a secondcartridge type in the opening at separate times. The method includesproviding a first cartridge into the opening of the cartridge holder,the first cartridge holding an amount of beverage medium to form avolume of a beverage of eight ounces or less. The method includes an actof combining liquid with the beverage medium in the first cartridge toform a beverage, receiving the beverage from the first cartridge via thefirst outlet, and removing the first cartridge from the opening of thecartridge holder. Further included in the method is providing a secondcartridge into the opening of the cartridge holder, the second cartridgeholding an amount of the beverage medium to form a volume of thebeverage of thirty ounces or more, combining liquid with the beveragemedium in the second cartridge to form the beverage, and receiving thebeverage from the second cartridge via the second outlet.

In some embodiments, a method of forming a beverage using a beverageforming apparatus is provided. The beverage forming apparatus includes acartridge holder having an opening to receive a cartridge, the cartridgeholder arranged to receive a first cartridge of a first cartridge typein the opening and a second cartridge of a second cartridge type in theopening at separate times. The method includes providing a firstcartridge having a first cartridge support region into the opening ofthe cartridge holder such that the cartridge holder supports the firstcartridge at the first cartridge support region, the first cartridgeholding an amount of beverage medium to form a volume of a beverage ofeight ounces or less, and having a first cartridge support region. Themethod also includes combining liquid with the beverage medium in thefirst cartridge to form a beverage, removing the first cartridge fromthe opening of the cartridge holder, and providing a second cartridgehaving a second cartridge support region into the opening of thecartridge holder such that the cartridge holder supports the secondcartridge at the second cartridge support region. The second cartridgeholds an amount of beverage medium to form a volume of a beverage ofthirty ounces or more, and the second cartridge support region has adifferent size and/or shape than the first cartridge support region.Further included in the method is combining liquid with the beveragemedium in the second cartridge to form the beverage.

In further embodiments, a method of forming a beverage using a beverageforming apparatus is provided. The beverage forming apparatus includes acartridge holder having an opening to receive a cartridge. The methodincludes using an inlet to provide liquid to a cartridge held by thecartridge holder to form a beverage, and using an outlet to receive thebeverage from the cartridge held by the cartridge holder. The liquid isinjected into the cartridge in the cartridge holder such that the liquidflow has a vertical component which travels downwardly in the directionof the force of gravity as the liquid enters the cartridge, and thebeverage is received from the cartridge in the cartridge holder suchthat the liquid flow has a vertical component which travels upwardly ina direction opposite to the force of gravity as the beverage exits thecartridge.

These and other aspects of the disclosure will be apparent from thefollowing description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Aspects of the invention are described below with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like numerals reference like elements, andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a front, perspective view of a beverage forming apparatus witha cartridge holder in an open position in an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of a beverage cartridge in anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective exploded view of a beverage cartridge in anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of a beverage cartridge in anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a cartridge holder and a cover in anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a cartridge holder and two beverage cartridgesin an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a partial, cutaway, front perspective view of a cartridgeholder in an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a partial, cutaway, top view of a cartridge holder in anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a perspective side view of a cartridge holder arranged toreceive cartridges having different sizes in an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a perspective side view of an engagement portion for thecartridge holder of the FIG. 9 embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a partial, cutaway, top view of a cartridge holder includinga cartridge sensor in an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a perspective, top view of cartridge engagement portions of acartridge holder in an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a perspective exploded view of a beverage cartridge in anillustrative embodiment; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of components of a beverage formingsystem in an illustrative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood that aspects of the invention are describedherein with reference to certain illustrative embodiments and thefigures. The illustrative embodiments described herein are notnecessarily intended to show all aspects of the invention, but ratherare used to describe a few illustrative embodiments. Thus, aspects ofthe invention are not intended to be construed narrowly in view of theillustrative embodiments. In addition, it should be understood thataspects of the invention may be used alone or in any suitablecombination with other aspects of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a beverage forming system 10.Although the beverage forming system 10 may be used to form any suitablebeverage, such as tea, coffee, or other infusion-type beverages,beverages may be formed from a liquid or powdered concentrate, soups,juices or other beverages made from dried materials, or other materials.As is known in the art, a beverage cartridge 2 may be provided to thesystem 10 and used to form a beverage that is deposited into a user'scup. The cartridge 2 may be manually or automatically placed in acartridge receiver that includes a cartridge holder 9 and a cover 8 inthis embodiment of the beverage forming system 10. For example, theholder 9 may be or include a circular, cup-shaped or otherwisesuitably-shaped opening 11 in which the cartridge 2 may be placed. Whilein this embodiment the opening 11 is sized and shaped so as to engagewith an upper portion of the cartridge 2, the opening 11 may be arrangedin other ways, e.g., to engage with a lower portion, side, bottom orother part of the cartridge 2. With a cartridge 2 placed in thecartridge holder 9, a handle 3 may be moved by hand so as to move thecartridge holder 9 to a closed position. In the closed position, thecover 8 at least partially covers the opening 11, e.g., to at leastpartially enclose the cartridge 2 in a chamber in which the cartridge isused to make a beverage. For example, with the cartridge 2 held by thecartridge holder 9 in the closed position, water or other liquid may beprovided to the cartridge 2 (e.g., by injecting the liquid into thecartridge interior) to form a beverage that exits the cartridge 2 and isprovided to a cup or other container.

Cartridges for use with beverage forming machines are well known, andmay include one or more filters as well as a beverage medium, such asground coffee beans, tea leaves, etc. In some cartridges, the filter islocated between two or more portions of an interior space of thecartridge, e.g., one portion in which a beverage medium is located, anda second portion into which liquid may flow after having passed throughthe filter. Examples of such cartridges are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,840,189 and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,762. U.S. Pat. No. 8,361,527describes a cartridge and a system for introducing liquid into thecartridge that may be used in embodiments of this invention, and ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In this embodiment, the beverage forming machine 10 includes a housing15 that houses and/or supports components of the machine 10, such as auser interface 14 used to control system operation, and defines acontainer receiving area 18 at which a container 7 is positionable toreceive beverage dispensed by the machine 10. Thus, at the containerreceiving area 18, the container 7 is associated with the machine 10 toreceive a dispensed beverage and may be supported by the housing 15. Thecontainer 7 may be received at the container receiving area 18 so thatthe container 7 is at least partially surrounded by the housing 15, orthe container 7 may be more exposed when at the container receiving area12.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the beverage formingmachine accommodates either a smaller cartridge suitable to produce asmaller quantity of beverage (hereinafter, “standard cartridge”) or alarger cartridge suitable for preparation of a larger volume of beveragesuch as a carafe of beverage (hereinafter, “carafe cartridge”). Forexample, the cartridge holder may be configured to receive and hold acartridge containing an amount of beverage medium suitable to form asmaller quantity of beverage, for example, between 5 oz. and 16 oz. Thesame cartridge holder also may be configured to receive and hold, at adifferent time from holding a standard cartridge, a carafe cartridgecontaining an amount of beverage medium sufficient to form asubstantially larger quantity of beverage, for example 30 oz. or more.In this manner, a cartridge-based machine may be used to form a smallerbeverage serving and a larger beverage quantity sufficient for multipleservings, e.g., a carafe of coffee. As a result of being able to receiveand hold either type of cartridge in the same cartridge holder,operation is simple from the user's standpoint. In some embodiments, thecartridge holder may be configured to receive and hold a cartridgecontaining an amount of beverage medium suitable to form 8 oz. or lessof beverage, and also configured to receive and hold a cartridgecontaining an amount of beverage medium suitable to form 30 oz. or moreof the beverage. The cartridge holder may be configured to receive andhold a cartridge containing an amount of beverage medium suitable toform 48 oz. or more, or 60 oz. or more of the beverage in someembodiments.

In another aspect of the invention, a beverage forming system may beconfigured to use a different inlet port and/or outlet port depending onthe type of cartridge being used. For example, when a standard cartridgeis used, the machine may use a needle or other penetrating element topierce a lid at the top of the cartridge to form an inlet port, and aseparate needle to pierce the bottom of the cartridge to form an outletport. In the same machine, and even in the same cartridge holder, themachine may pierce a carafe cartridge at a different location and/orwith a different needle (or other penetrating element). For example, themachine may pierce the lid of the carafe cartridge in some embodimentsto form an outlet port. In such an embodiment, the beverage formingsystem may be configured to inject fluid downwardly into a beveragecartridge, and arranged to receive the formed beverage as the beverageflows upwardly out of the cartridge. Arrangements such as thosedescribed above may allow various cartridges having different flowpaths, substantially different sizes, and different piercing locationsto be used in the same cartridge holder.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a beverage machine whichaccommodates a standard cartridge having a rim size that is differentfrom the rim size of a carafe cartridge. In some embodiments, themachine adjusts an engagement portion based on the type of cartridgepresent. Other embodiments may include a separate engagement portion forcartridges of each type. Such an arrangement may make for an easy andconvenient way to use a single beverage forming machine to produce cupsof coffee and also carafes of coffee.

The beverage machine receives cartridges of different shapes and/orcartridges having rims of different shapes according to another aspectof the invention in some embodiments. An adjustable engagement portionis used in some embodiments to accommodate either a carafe cartridgehaving a first shape or a standard cartridge having a second shape. Asensor may sense which cartridge shape is present as part of determiningwhich cartridge type has been inserted in the cartridge holder and/or aspart of engaging the cartridge. In some embodiments, the adjustableengagement portion includes a deformable material or element.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the feature and/orlocation of the cartridge by which the cartridge is held in thecartridge holder may be different for a standard cartridge as comparedto a carafe cartridge. For example, the rim of one type of cartridge maybe used by the cartridge holder as a cartridge support region, while thecartridge holder may use the bottom or sides of another type ofcartridge as a cartridge support region.

One arrangement for using a cartridge to form a beverage will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. B. The cartridge 2 shown in theembodiment of FIG. 2 includes a container 12 which includes an interiorspace 14 having a first chamber 14 a and a second chamber 14 b that areseparated by a filter 30. It should be understood, however, that otheradditional chambers in the interior space and/or sub-portions or areasof the first and second chambers, may be provided in other embodiments.For example, it is possible for the cartridge to have three spaces thatseparated by two filters (e.g., a first filter separates two portions ofa first chamber and a second filter separates the first and secondchambers), and so on. In another embodiment, the first or second chambermay be separated into two portions by a venturi or other feature thatintroduces air into a beverage. Thus, the first and/or second chambersmay be divided or otherwise separated into two or more portions or areasby filters, walls, dividers, passageways, and other features.

In this embodiment, the container 12 may have a frustoconical cup shapewith a sidewall 17 and an opening 13. However, in other embodiments, thecontainer 12 may have a fluted, conical, or cylindrical shape, may be inthe form of a square or rectangular cup, a domed cup, a sphere orpartial sphere, or other suitable form, may have a fluted, corrugated,or otherwise shaped sidewall, and so on. Also, the container 12 need notnecessarily have a defined shape, as is the case with some beveragesachets and pods. For example, although the container 12 in thisembodiment has a relatively rigid and/or resilient construction so thatthe container 12 tends to maintain its shape, the container 12 could bemade to have a more compliant and/or deformable arrangement, e.g., likea sachet container made from a sheet of deformable material. Thus, aninterior space defined by the container 12 may be formed only after thecontainer material is formed around a beverage medium, filter and/orother cartridge components, similar to when two filter paper layers(container material) are joined together around a charge of coffeegrounds to form a pod or other form of cartridge.

If the container 12 includes an opening, the opening may be closed by alid 38, e.g., a foil and polymer laminate material that is attached to arim 19 of the container 12. Although in this embodiment the rim 19 isarranged as an annular flange-like element, the rim 19 may be arrangedin other ways. For example, the rim 19 may be the top edge of thesidewall 17 without any flange element. The container 12 and/or the lid38 may provide a barrier to moisture and/or gases, such as oxygen. Forexample, the container 12 may be made of a polymer laminate, e.g.,formed from a sheet including a layer of polystyrene or polypropyleneand a layer of EVOH and/or other barrier material, such as a metallicfoil. Such an arrangement may provide suitable protection for thebeverage medium 20, e.g., from unwanted exposure from moisture, oxygenand/or other materials. It should be understood, however, that thecontainer 12 and/or the lid 38 may be made of other materials orcombinations of materials, such as biopolymers, compostable polymers,paper, foils, etc.

The lid 38 and/or the container 12 may be pierced to introduce liquidinto the cartridge and receive beverage from the cartridge. As usedherein, “beverage” refers to a liquid substance intended for drinkingthat is formed when a liquid interacts with a beverage medium. Thus,beverage refers to a liquid that is ready for consumption, e.g., aliquid dispensed into a cup and ready for drinking, as well as a liquidthat will undergo other processes or treatments, such as filtering orthe addition of flavorings, creamer, sweeteners, another beverage, etc.,before being consumed. To introduce liquid into the cartridge, forexample, as shown in FIG. 2, a portion of the lid 38 generallycircumscribed by the periphery 32 may be pierced by an inlet port 50(e.g., a hollow needle) or other penetrating element so that water orother liquid or fluid may be injected into the cartridge 2. Other inletpiercing arrangements are possible, such as multiple needles, a showerhead, a non-hollow needle, a cone, a pyramid, a knife, a blade, etc. Abeverage machine that uses the cartridge may include multiple piercingelements of the same type or of different types. In another arrangement,a beverage machine may include a piercing element (such as a spike) thatforms an opening and thereafter a second inlet element (such as a tube)may pass through the formed hole to introduce liquid into (or conductliquid out of) the container. In other embodiments, the lid 38 may bepierced, or otherwise effectively opened for flow, by introducingpressure at an exterior of the lid 38. For example, a water inlet may bepressed and sealed to the lid 38 exterior and water pressure introducedat the site. The water pressure may cause the lid 38 to be pierced orotherwise opened to allow flow into the cartridge 2. In anotherarrangement, the lid 38 may include a valve, conduit or other structurethat opens when exposed to a suitable pressure and/or when mated with awater inlet tube or other structure.

The cartridge 2 may be penetrated by an outlet port 52 (e.g., a hollowneedle) at a bottom 16 of the container 12, or at a second portion ofthe lid 38 outside of the periphery 32 and apart from the inlet opening.As with the inlet piercing arrangement, the outlet piercing arrangementmay be varied in any suitable way. Thus, the outlet piercing element mayinclude one or more hollow or solid needles, knives, blades, tubes, andso on. Alternately, the cartridge 2 may include a valve, septum or otherelement that opens to permit beverage to exit when liquid is introducedinto the cartridge, but otherwise remains closed (e.g., to protect thebeverage medium from external conditions such as oxygen, moisture orothers). In such a case, no piercing element for forming the outletopening is necessarily required although one may be used, e.g., to allowthe valve or other element to open. Also, in this illustrativeembodiment, the piercing element remains in place to receive beverage asit exits the opening formed in the container 12 or lid 38. However, inother embodiments, the piercing element may withdraw after forming anopening, allowing beverage to exit the opening and be received withoutthe piercing element being extended into the cartridge 2. The outletpiercing element may include or be connected to a conduit to conductbeverage from the cartridge 2 to a dispensing area of the beverageforming machine 10, or beverage may simply exit the cartridge 2 withoutbeing conducted by a conduit.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a cartridge 5 having a rim 19 andcontainer 12 that form a cup shape having a spout-like feature 41. Thelid 38 may have a corresponding shape, and may be arranged so that anoutlet opening can be formed in the lid 38 in the spout area of the rim19 and container 12. This shape may help with draining of beverage fromthe container 12 when the cartridge is suitably oriented because thebeverage may tend to drain into the spout area. In such an embodiment, apiercing element may arranged to pierce the lid in the spout region aspart of forming a cartridge outlet.

The spout feature or other irregular shape also may provide an indexingor positioning feature that helps to ensure that the cartridge 5 isassociated with a beverage machine in a particular way. For example, thecartridge shown in FIG. 3 may be used in an orientation where the spoutfeature is located at or near the outlet needle. Because the spout canbe used to ensure that the cartridge is positioned with the spout at ornear the outlet needle, the spout can help in draining beverage from thecartridge.

The filter 30 may be attached to the lid 38 at a periphery 32 that isspaced inwardly and away from the rim 19. Or, in some embodiments, thefilter 30 may be attached directly to the container 12 or other suitablefeature.

Using the spout or other indexing feature to ensure a suitable cartridgeorientation also may help if the cartridge 5 includes readable features,such as a barcode, RFID tag, or other machine readable code. That is,the spout may help ensure the cartridge is rotationally positioned in aparticular location so that the readable feature(s) can be properly readby the machine. The spout feature (or other suitable arrangement) alsomay provide a convenient place for a pull tab to be located for the lid38 so that the lid 38 and filter 30 may be removed from the rim 19,e.g., by peeling the lid 38 from the rim 19.

The beverage machine may include two or more outlet ports, and thedetermination as to which outlet port is used may be based on the sizeand/or type of cartridge being used. For example, when using a carafecartridge to form a beverage, an outlet port that pierces the lid of thecartridge may be used, while an outlet port that pierces the bottom ofthe cartridge (or other location below the lid) may be used to pierce astandard cartridge. Or, in some embodiments, the arrangement may bereversed.

For example, when using a standard cartridge, the inlet port 50 may beused to penetrate the lid 38 and inject liquid into the cartridge 2, andthe outlet port 52 may be used to penetrate the container bottom 16 anddeliver beverage from the cartridge, as shown in FIG. 2. When a carafecartridge is placed in the cartridge holder, the same inlet port 50 maybe used, but a different outlet port 54 may be used for delivery ofbeverage from the cartridge. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, theoutlet port 54 penetrates the lid 38 to form an outlet, though thebeverage forming machine and the cartridge may be arranged to form anoutlet at any suitable location. In embodiments where one or more of thecartridge outlets are openings which do not include hollow needles ortubes, different outlet openings may be used for different cartridgetypes.

FIG. 4 shows the cartridge 2 tilted such that an imaginary axis 39perpendicular to the lid is at an angle relative to horizontal. In theillustrated embodiment, the cartridge is tilted by 45° relative tohorizontal, though any suitable angle may be used, and the cartridge maybe used in a non-tilted, vertical orientation in some embodiments. Insome embodiments, the cartridge may be inverted relative to horizontalsuch that the lid 38 faces either straight downwardly or downwardly atan angle.

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 4, the beverage which exits thecartridge through the outlet port 54 has an upward component ofmovement. Via the pressure of the liquid injected into the cartridge 2and/or the pressure of an air purge operation, the beverage movesupwardly against the force of gravity and out of the cartridge 2. Thatis, when the liquid is injected into the cartridge, the liquid flow hasa vertical component which aligns with gravity (even if the downwardflow is not directly vertically downward), and when the beverage exitsthe cartridge, the liquid flow has a vertical component which isopposite to the gravitational force.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic side view of an inlet and outlet portconfiguration that may be employed with embodiments disclosed hereinwhere a cartridge holder is arranged to receive cartridges of differentsizes and/or shapes. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the cover 8 of thebeverage machine 10 may include a first inlet port 50 and a secondoutlet port 54, and may be pivotal about a cover pivot 81 between anopen position (shown in dashed line) and a closed position (shown insolid line). In this embodiment, the inlet and outlet ports 50, 54include piercing elements to pierce the cartridge 5 and form an opening,but piercing elements for either or both ports are not required.Instead, the cartridge 5 may have pre-formed inlet/outlet openings, orthe openings may be formed by pressure applied to the outside or insideof the cartridge. For example, water pressure may be applied to theexterior of the cartridge 5 to form an inlet opening, and beveragepressure inside the cartridge may form an outlet opening in thecartridge, e.g., a septum, burstable seal or other structure may open inresponse to pressure.

In this embodiment, when a carafe cartridge 5 is received into thecartridge holder 9 and the cover 8 is moved to the closed position, theinlet and outlet ports 50, 54 may form openings in a top of thecartridge 5 so that water or other fluid may be provided into thecartridge 5 via the inlet port 50, and beverage may be received from thecartridge 5 via the outlet port 54. However, the second outlet port 52does not contact the carafe cartridge 5 because the cartridge 5 is nottall enough to reach downwardly and contact the second outlet port 52.In contrast, when the standard cartridge 2 is received in the cartridgeholder 9, the inlet port 50 may form an opening in a top of thecartridge 2 when the cover 8 is in the closed position, but the firstoutlet port 54 does not penetrate the standard cartridge 2 because thecartridge 2 is smaller in diameter at the rim 19. Instead, the secondoutlet port 52 may form an outlet opening in a bottom of the cartridge 2because in this embodiment, the standard cartridge 2 is taller than thecarafe cartridge 5 so that the piercing element of the outlet port 52penetrates the cartridge 2. Thus, beverage formed in the cartridge 2 mayflow to the second outlet port 52. Of course, it will be understood thatother inlet/outlet port arrangements are possible for use with differentcartridges and are not limited to this illustrative embodiment. Forexample, the inlet and/or outlet ports may introduce or receive fluid inany suitable locations relative to the cartridges, such as at the top,bottom, side or other locations of the cartridge, and may depend on thecartridge arrangements.

Note that while in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the carafe cartridge5 is too short to contact the second outlet port 52, a differentarrangement may not require a height difference between cartridge types.In such a case, the second outlet port 52 may be moved out of acartridge receiving space so that the port 52 can avoid contact with thecartridge 5. Such movement may be accomplished in different ways, suchas by a motorized drive, a linkage, having a user physically move one ofthe ports into/out of a cartridge receiving area, and others. In oneaspect of the invention, one or more ports may be selected for use witha cartridge based on one or more features of the cartridge that isinserted into the cartridge holder 9. For example, insertion of acartridge having a relatively larger rim diameter may cause the secondoutlet port 52 to be moved out of a cartridge receiving area so as toavoid potential contact with the cartridge. In other embodiments,insertion of a particular cartridge type may release a port formovement, e.g., insertion of the larger rim cartridge may release thesecond outlet port 52 so that the cartridge may contact the secondoutlet port 52 and move it.

Of course, other embodiments, such as one in which the cover 8 does notinclude piercing elements, but rather inlet and/or outlet ports that areflush with the cover surface confronting the cartridge, the cover 8 neednot move. Instead, the cover may remain fixed and stationary relative tothe housing 17 and the cartridge holder 9 may move alone, e.g., thecartridge holder 9 could pivot from an upper position to a lowerposition in which the opening 11 is opposed to the fixed cover.Thereafter, the holder 9 could move radially or linearly so that thecover at least partially covers the opening 11.

To receive and support different types of cartridge, including differentsizes and/or shapes of cartridges, a cartridge holder may include anadjustable engagement portion which engages with each type of cartridge.By way of example, the cartridge holder may include an engagementportion which moves or is biased horizontally to position a cartridge inthe holder. Such an arrangement could accommodate differently-sizedand/or differently-shaped cartridges while using the same portion orportions of the cartridge holder to support each type of cartridge.

For example, as shown in the top view of one embodiment of a cartridgebrewer in FIG. 6, a cartridge holder may include movable cartridgesupports 60 a and 60 b. When a standard cartridge having a first rimsize is sensed by the machine, for example the cartridge 2 of FIG. 5,the cartridge supports 60 a, 60 b may be moved inwardly toward oneanother to capture the cartridge 2. In some embodiments, the supports 60a, 60 b may be moved a preset distance, while in other embodiments, thesupports 60 a, 60 b may be arranged so that they move inwardly until athreshold force is encountered, indicating that cartridge is present.

Similarly, when a carafe cartridge 5 having a larger rim size than thestandard cartridge 2 is inserted into the cartridge holder 9, themachine may sense the cartridge's presence in any suitable manner andmove the supports 60 a, 60 b inwardly until the cartridge is captured.As before, the machine may determine what type of cartridge is present,and control the supports 60 a, 60 b accordingly.

The supports 60 a, 60 b may automatically return to a fully separatedconfiguration when the cartridge is removed from the cartridge holder 9in some embodiments so that the cartridge holder 9 is ready to receive anew cartridge. Or, the machine may be configured such that the usermoves the supports 60 a, 60 b apart from one another when inserting anew cartridge. For example, in some embodiments, the supports 60 a, 60 bmay be biased inwardly, such as by one or more springs, such that thecartridge is pushed into the cartridge holder opening 11 to force thesupports apart from one another.

As another example of an adjustable engagement portion, a block ofresilient material may be provided with an opening sized such that astandard cartridge is pressable into the opening and held via aninterference fit. The resilient material may be sufficiently flexiblesuch that a carafe cartridge similarly can be pressed into the openingand held by the resilient material.

FIG. 7 shows a partial view of a cartridge holder 9 including a block ofresilient material 70 with an opening 72 arranged to receive cartridgesof varying sizes and/or shapes, such as the carafe cartridge 5 or thestandard cartridge 2. Each cartridge compresses the resilient material,and the resulting inward force from the material holds the cartridge inplace. The opening 72 may be sized to hold a suitable range of cartridgesizes such that standard cartridges and carafe cartridges can beaccommodated. The resilient material may be made of a foam or siliconematerial in some embodiments. With certain shapes of cartridges, such asfrustoconical cartridges for example, the opening in the resilientmaterial adjusts as the cartridge is inserted into the opening.

In a further embodiment, an arrangement similar to an iris diaphragmshutter may be used to position and/or hold a cartridge. Multiple bladesmay move inwardly to close a substantially circular opening until comingthe blades come into contact with the cartridge that is present in theholder. FIG. 8 shows one arrangement of such an embodiment, with aplurality of pins 80 in slots 82 to move panels 84 inwardly andoutwardly to adjust the size of an opening 86. In this manner, thecartridge holder may work with a continuous range of cartridge sizes,and not be limited to certain, discrete cartridge sizes.

In another embodiment, the cartridge holder 9 may include one or moremoveable portions 88 that are movable to adjust a size of an opening 89at which the cartridges are received and engaged by the cartridge holder9, as shown in FIG. 9. For example, in this embodiment, the cartridgeholder 9 is arranged to receive both a carafe cartridge 5 and a standardcartridge 2 that are different from each other, e.g., the carafecartridge 5 has a circular rim 19 with a diameter that is larger thanthe diameter of the circular rim 19 of the standard cartridge 2. Thesizes of the rim diameters and the difference between the two may be anysuitable value, e.g., one rim 19 may have diameter of about 50 mm andthe other rim 19 diameter may be about 63 mm. In some embodiments, therim diameter of a cartridge may be 75 mm or more. The rim 19 diameter isrelevant in this embodiment because the cartridge holder 9 engages withthe cartridges 2, 5 in a region at or near (e.g., just below) the rim19. For example, the cartridge may be received into the opening 89 suchthat an underside of the rim 19 rests on the movable portions 88 and thecartridge is suspended by its rim. In cases where the cartridges 2, 5are engaged by the holder 9 in other regions, such as at a mid-sectionof the cartridges 2, 5, at a bottom of the cartridges, etc., thecartridges 2, 5 may be different in size and/or shape in these regions.For cartridges that include a spout which forms part of the rim, thediameter of the rim does not include the spout portion.

In this embodiment, the movable portions 88 are movable in a radialdirection as shown by the arrows so that the size of the opening 89 canbe adjusted to receive the differently-sized cartridges 2, 5. Themovable portions 88 may move in any suitable way, such as being springbiased to move radially inwardly so that when the first and/or secondcartridge 2, 5 is placed in the holder 9, the movable portions 88 arepushed outwardly by the cartridge 2, 5 container 12 until the rim 19contacts the movable portions 88 or other stop. In the embodiment shownin FIG. 9, each of the movable portions 88 may be slidable in acorresponding slot of the cartridge holder 9, and a coil spring (notshown) may bias each of the movable portions 88 to move radiallyinwardly in the corresponding slot. A stop or other feature may limiteach movable portion's 88 radial movement, e.g., the movable portions 88may be normally biased to a position in which the movable portions 88define a size and/or shape of the opening 89 that corresponds to thestandard cartridge 2. Thus, when the standard cartridge 2 is placed inthe holder 9, the movable portions 88 need not move to allow the holderto receive the second cartridge 2. However, the movable portions 88 maymove radially to accept the carafe cartridge 5.

In another embodiment, an engagement portion of the cartridge holder mayinclude one or more “finger” or wall portions that are arranged to moveto accommodate differently sized/shaped cartridges. For example, FIG. 10shows one embodiment of an engagement portion that includes five“fingers” or wall portions 88. The wall portions 88 are arrangedtogether to form a sort of basket in which the cartridges are placed.Thus, the structure shown in FIG. 10 may be positioned in the cartridgeholder 9 such that top parts 88 a of the wall portions 88 define theopening 89 of the holder 9, e.g., the top parts 88 a may contact anunderside of the rim 19 of the cartridges. The wall portions 88 may bejoined together at a bottom of the engagement portion and include atleast one resilient portion that allows the wall portions 88 to flexoutwardly and/or inwardly so as to adjust a size and/or shape of theopening 89. For example, with the wall portions 88 at rest in anundeformed state, the standard cartridge 2 may be received into theopening 89 defined by the wall portions 88 with little or no movement ofthe wall portions 88. However, when the larger carafe cartridge 5 isplaced in the opening 89, the sidewall 12 of the cartridge 5 may forcethe wall portions 88 to flex outwardly until the underside of the rim 19contacts the top parts 88 a of the wall portions 88.

In some embodiments, the engagement portion(s) may have a contact areawhich contacts a standard cartridge, and the same contact area alsocontacts a carafe cartridge when carafe cartridge is provided to thecartridge holder. For example, the top parts 88 a of the wall portions88 are contact areas that contact both the standard cartridge and thecarafe cartridge in some embodiments.

The machine may determine which type of cartridge (large/small,spout/no-spout, etc.) is present in any suitable manner. In someembodiments, the machine includes a sensor which sends a signal to acontroller based on which type of cartridge is present, and thecontroller, such as a microprocessor, controls operation of theappropriate inlet and/or outlet ports. For purposes herein, when anaction or decision is based on a determination or other parameter, theterm “based on” does not necessarily limit the action to being based ononly that specific parameter. Other parameters may factor into theaction or decision. However, in some embodiments described herein,certain actions may be based solely on one parameter. For example, anaction of adjusting a cartridge holder opening size may be based solelyon the type of cartridge sensed by a sensor in some embodiments.

In other embodiments, no sensor is used—instead the physical arrangementof the outlet ports and the cartridges permits one type of cartridge tobe pierced from below (e.g., a standard cartridge) without being piercedat its top lid, and allows another type of cartridge to be pierced atits top lid (e.g., a carafe cartridge) without being pierced from below,as discussed above with reference to FIG. 5. In some embodiments, asensor may be employed simply to determine whether a cartridge ispresent, but not to determine a type of cartridge. For example, whenused with the embodiment described above where one or more engagementportions move inwardly until encountering a threshold force, a cartridgepresence sensor may be used as part of instructing the engagementportions to start moving inwardly.

The sensor may sense a physical characteristic of the cartridge. Forexample, a mechanical sensor may sense the presence of a spout 41 (orlack thereof), or the size of a cartridge rim. A sensor which senses alabel or other identifying element included with the cartridge may beused instead of, or in addition to, a mechanical sensor. For example, aUPC or RFID reader may be used to detect which type of cartridge ispresent, e.g., standard cartridge versus carafe cartridge.

As one example of a mechanical sensor, FIG. 11 is a schematic top viewof a cartridge holder 9 holding a carafe cartridge 5 with a spout 41. Afirst cartridge sensor (not shown) may check for the presence of acartridge once the cover is closed over the cartridge holder 9. If acartridge is sensed, a second cartridge sensor 90 extends a movablesensor bar 92 toward a region of the cartridge holder where a spoutwould be present if a carafe cartridge is inserted. If the sensor bar 92hits a spout before reaching full extension, the sensor sends a signalto a controller to signal that a carafe cartridge is present, and thecontroller proceeds to send an appropriate amount of water or otherfluid to the cartridge.

In some embodiments, the user interface may include a prompt for theuser to indicate what type of cartridge is being provided to thecartridge holder. In such embodiments, the beverage forming machine mayadditionally include a cartridge sensor to determine the presence of acartridge and/or to confirm the indication, or may not include anysensor.

According to one aspect of the invention, a beverage-forming machine maybe constructed to hold a standard cartridge at a different locationand/or by contacting a different cartridge feature as compared to acarafe cartridge. Two different holding elements may be provided in themachine—one for holding the standard cartridge and one for holding thecarafe cartridge in some embodiments. For example, as shownschematically in FIG. 12, the cartridge holder 9 may support the largercarafe cartridge by the cartridge rim on an upper edge of an outersupport cylinder 96. The same cartridge holder may be arranged tosupport a standard cartridge (of the same height or different height) atthe cartridge's bottom using a base 97 of the cartridge holder, andinclude a low profile cylinder 98 (or other riser) to prevent horizontalmovement of the cartridge. The carafe cartridge may be shaped with araised bottom so that the carafe cartridge does not interfere with thelow profile cylinder 98. In other embodiments, the standard cartridge isheld at or near its rim, while the carafe cartridge is held at adifferent cartridge support region.

While various embodiments of cartridges are described above, othercartridge types may be used. For example, cartridges such as thosedescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,607,762, 6,645,537, 6,538,577, and othersmay be used. FIG. 13 shows one example of a non-circular cartridge whichmay be used in connection with embodiments disclosed herein. In thisembodiment, the container 12 is shaped like a rectangular box and has arectangularly-shaped rim 19. The lid 38 and filter 30 (which also has arectangular box shape) are attached to the rim 19 in a way similar tothat described above. This embodiment illustrates that aspects of theinvention are not limited to round or circular shapes for the rim 19and/or other cartridge components. To the contrary, any irregular orother suitable shape for the cartridge components is possible.

FIG. 14 shows a schematic block diagram of various components that maybe included in a beverage forming apparatus 100 in one illustrativeembodiment. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that a beverageforming apparatus 100 may be configured in a variety of different ways,and thus aspects of the invention should not be narrowly interpreted asrelating only to one type of beverage forming apparatus. Water or otherliquid from a storage tank 110 may be provided via a supply conduit 111to a pump 112 (such as a centrifugal pump, piston pump, solenoid pump,diaphragm pump, etc.), which pumps the liquid via a pump conduit 115 toa heating tank or chamber 118. Operation of the water pump 112 and othercomponents of the apparatus 100 may be controlled by a controller 130,e.g., including a programmed processor and/or other data processingdevice along with suitable software or other operating instructions, oneor more memories (including non-transient storage media that may storesoftware and/or other operating instructions), temperature and liquidlevel sensors, pressure sensors, input/output interfaces, communicationbuses or other links, a display, switches, relays, triacs, or othercomponents necessary to perform desired input/output or other functions.The heating tank 118 may be filled with a desired amount of liquid byany suitable technique, such as running the pump 112 for a predeterminedtime, sensing a water level in the heating tank 118 using a conductiveprobe sensor or capacitive sensor, detecting a pressure rise in heatingtank 118 when the liquid fills the tank, or using any other viabletechnique. For example, the controller 130 may detect that the heatingtank 118 is completely filled when a pressure sensor detects a rise inpressure indicating that the water has reached the top of the heatingtank 118. Alternately, the controller 130 may not detect whether thetank 118 is filled or not, and simply assume that the tank 118 is filledonce a first fill operation is completed.

Water in the tank may be heated, if desired, by way of a heating element123 whose operation is controlled by the controller 130 using input froma temperature sensor or other suitable input. Water in the heating tank118 may be dispensed via a heating tank conduit 119 to the cartridgechamber 49 or other beverage forming station. Although in thisembodiment the conduit 119 is shown extending below the top of the tank118, the conduit 119 may be arranged in any suitable way, such asconnected simply to the top of the tank 119 without extending into thetank at all. The cartridge chamber 49 may include any beverage makingingredient, such as ground coffee, tea, a flavored drink mix, or othersubstance, e.g., contained in a cartridge 2. Liquid may be dischargedfrom the heating tank 118 by pressurizing the metering tank with airprovided by an air pump 121 that causes the liquid to be discharged outof a tube 117 and into the heating tank conduit 119. Completion of thedispensing from the heating tank 118 may be detected in any suitableway, such as by detecting a pressure drop in the heating tank 118, bydetecting a water level change in the heating tank 118, use of a flowmeter, or using any other viable techniques. Liquid may alternately bedischarged from the heating tank 118 by the pump 112 operating to forceadditional liquid into the tank 118, thereby displacing water out of thetank 118 and to the brew chamber. A flow sensor or other suitable devicemay be used to determine the amount of liquid delivered to the tank 118,and thus the amount of liquid delivered to the brew chamber.Alternately, the pump 112 may be a piston-type, diaphragm-type or otherpump arranged such that a known volume of liquid may be delivered fromthe pump 112 to the tank 118, thus causing the same known volume to bedelivered to the cartridge holder 9. Thus, a specified volume of liquidmay be delivered to the cartridge holder 9 by operating the pump 112 todeliver the specified volume of liquid to the tank 118. Liquid may beintroduced into the cartridge 1 at any suitable pressure, e.g., 1-2 psior higher. Once liquid delivery by the pump 112 is complete, an air pump121 may be operated to force air into the top of the tank 118 and/orinto the conduit 119 to clear the conduit 119 and cartridge 1 of liquid,at least to some extent.

While in this illustrative embodiment, a liquid supply system arrangedto provide liquid to a beverage forming chamber (the cartridge chamber49) may include a heating tank 118, pump 112, storage tank 110 and othercomponents, these components are not necessarily required. Instead, anysuitable arrangement for providing liquid to a chamber may be employed,whether using gravity, a pump, air pressure or other motive force tomove liquid. Also, it is not necessarily required that liquid be heatedprior to being provided for mixing with a beverage medium. Instead,liquid may be provided for forming a beverage at any suitabletemperature.

Also, there is no requirement that an inlet port and/or an outlet portpierce a cartridge to provide liquid to, or receive beverage from, acartridge. Instead, communication with a cartridge may be performedusing any suitable ports or other features.

Although in the embodiments above the cartridge holder and other movableportions are driven by hand, other arrangements are envisioned forvarious aspects of the invention. For example, a motorized actuator maybe used to move the cartridge holder, rather than a manually-operatedhandle. A motorized actuator may cause relative motion of components inresponse to a push-button operation, completion of a beverage formationcycle, or other input or condition. Also, to the extent differentmovable components are linked together in some fashion, such linkagesare not limited to engagement via a cam and cam follower or otherconfigurations discussed above. Other arrangements are possible, such asa pair of gears or a rack and pinion engagement (including straight orcurved rack configurations).

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisinvention, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications,and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Suchalterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part ofthis disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings areby way of example only.

What is claimed is:
 1. A beverage forming apparatus comprising: acartridge holder having an opening to receive a cartridge, the cartridgeholder arranged to receive a first cartridge of a first cartridge sizein the opening and a second cartridge of a second cartridge size,different from the first cartridge size, in the opening at separatetimes, the first cartridge being configured to hold an amount ofbeverage medium to form a volume of a beverage of eight ounces or less,and the second cartridge being configured to hold an amount of beveragemedium sufficient to form a volume of at least thirty ounces of thebeverage; an inlet arranged to provide liquid to a cartridge held by thecartridge holder to form the beverage; a first outlet arranged toreceive the beverage from the first cartridge held by the cartridgeholder; and a second outlet arranged to receive the beverage from thesecond cartridge held by the cartridge holder, the second outlet beingdifferent from the first outlet; wherein the second outlet is arrangedto receive the beverage from the second cartridge in the cartridgeholder such that liquid flow of the beverage has a vertical componentwhich travels upwardly in a direction opposite to the force of gravityas the beverage exits the second cartridge; and the first outlet isarranged to receive the beverage from the first cartridge in thecartridge holder such that liquid flow of the beverage has a verticalcomponent which travels downwardly in the direction of the force ofgravity as the beverage exits the first cartridge.
 2. A beverage formingapparatus as in claim 1, wherein the second outlet includes apenetrating element arranged to penetrate the second cartridge at acartridge lid.
 3. A beverage forming apparatus as in claim 2, whereinthe first outlet includes a penetrating element arranged to penetratethe first cartridge at a location below a cartridge lid.
 4. A beverageforming apparatus as in claim 3, wherein the penetrating element of thefirst outlet is arranged to pierce a bottom of the first cartridge.
 5. Abeverage forming apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the inlet, firstoutlet, and second outlet each include a piercing element to pierce acartridge.
 6. A beverage forming apparatus as in claim 5, wherein thepiercing elements of the inlet and the second outlet face downwardly andthe piercing element of the first outlet faces upwardly.
 7. A beverageforming apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the cartridge holder isarranged to receive a first cartridge having a rim diameter of less thanor equal to fifty millimeters, and also arranged to receive a secondcartridge having a rim diameter of greater than or equal to sixty-threemillimeters.
 8. A beverage forming apparatus as in claim 5, incombination with the second cartridge.
 9. A beverage forming apparatusas in claim 1, wherein the cartridge holder is arranged to receive asecond cartridge configured to hold an amount of beverage mediumsufficient to form a volume of at least forty-eight ounces of thebeverage.
 10. A beverage forming apparatus as in claim 1, wherein thecartridge holder comprises a cartridge receiving area, and the firstoutlet or the second outlet is movable into and out of the cartridgereceiving area.
 11. A beverage forming apparatus comprising: a cartridgeholder having an opening to receive a cartridge, the cartridge holderarranged to receive a first cartridge of a first cartridge size in theopening and a second cartridge of a second cartridge size, differentfrom the first cartridge size, in the opening at separate times; aninlet arranged to provide liquid to a cartridge held by the cartridgeholder to form the beverage; a first outlet arranged to receive thebeverage from the first cartridge held by the cartridge holder; and asecond outlet arranged to receive the beverage from the second cartridgeheld by the cartridge holder, the second outlet being different from thefirst outlet; wherein the second outlet is arranged to receive thebeverage from the second cartridge in the cartridge holder such thatliquid flow of the beverage has a vertical component which travelsupwardly in a direction opposite to the force of gravity as the beverageexits the second cartridge; and the first outlet is arranged to receivethe beverage from the first cartridge in the cartridge holder such thatliquid flow of the beverage has a vertical component which travelsdownwardly in the direction of the force of gravity as the beverageexits the first cartridge.
 12. A beverage forming apparatus as in claim11, wherein the second outlet includes a penetrating element arranged topenetrate the second cartridge at a cartridge lid.
 13. A beverageforming apparatus as in claim 12, wherein the first outlet includes apenetrating element arranged to penetrate the first cartridge at alocation below a cartridge lid.
 14. A beverage forming apparatus as inclaim 13, wherein the penetrating element of the first outlet isarranged to pierce a bottom of the first cartridge.
 15. A beverageforming apparatus as in claim 11, wherein the inlet, first outlet, andsecond outlet each include a piercing element to pierce a cartridge. 16.A beverage forming apparatus as in claim 15, wherein the piercingelements of the inlet and the second outlet face downwardly and thepiercing element of the first outlet faces upwardly.
 17. A beverageforming apparatus as in claim 11, wherein the cartridge holder isarranged to receive a first cartridge having a rim diameter of less thanor equal to fifty millimeters, and also arranged to receive a secondcartridge having a rim diameter of greater than or equal to sixty-threemillimeters.
 18. A beverage forming apparatus as in claim 15, incombination with the second cartridge.
 19. A beverage forming apparatusas in claim 11, wherein the cartridge holder is arranged to receive asecond cartridge configured to hold an amount of beverage mediumsufficient to form a volume of at least forty-eight ounces of thebeverage.
 20. A beverage forming apparatus as in claim 11, wherein thecartridge holder comprises a cartridge receiving area, and the firstoutlet or the second outlet is movable into and out of the cartridgereceiving area.